Seal



w. H. GoonELL.

' SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED APR.18\19I9.

1,332,291 Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

nir

WILLIAM H. G'OODELL, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEAL.

Application filed April 18, 1919.

To all w/wm t may concern.-

Be it known that I, FVILLIAM H. Goonnnr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn7 in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Seals, of which the following is a specification.

invention relatesto seals of that class comprising a sealing member which when once placed in position must be destroyed, broken or otherwise structurally altered or mutilated in order to remove the same, and the object of my invention is to provide an improved seal of this kind.

The doors of freight cars are usually provided with means for fastening them in their closed positions and such fastening devices are ordinarily constructed to be sealed in interlocked relationship with the door closed, by means of a `frail metal wire engaged with said fastening device and having its ends connected together by a disk or lump of lead permanently connected with said ends so that either the wire or thc piece of lead must be broken or mutilated in order to disengage the fastening devices holding the door in its closed position. As a matter of fact, however.I such seals can be carefully opened to free the fastening devices and again restored to sealing condition in such manner that knowledge of that fact can be had only by very careful and close inspection of the seal. One of the principal ob- `iects of my invention is to obviate the objection ust noted and to provide improved fastening and sealing means for doors and other closures, particularly the doors of freight cars, which cannot be manipulated or operated to permit theV closure or door to be opened without first destroying the sealing means or changing the structure thereof to such a degree as to be plainly apparent, even from a considerable distance.

The invention consists of a seal having Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1921).

Serial No. 290,988.

Fig. et is an elevation of the lower end of the bolt hereinafter described.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. d.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the bolt shown in Fig. 4t.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the key hereinafter referred to.

Fig. 8 shows certain features of my invention embodied in a bottle closure.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9 of Fig. S.

Having reference to the drawings, 9 represcnts a portion of a railway freight car, 10 being one of the side walls thereof made with a doorway 11 provided with the usual sliding door l2. The door 12 has permanently secured to it a fastener member 13 formed at one end with a vertically disposed eye or socket 14- adapted to occupy a position between and aline with a pair of eyes or sockets 15 provided upon a fastener member 16 permanently secured to the side wall 10. The door 12 is held in its closed position by a metal bolt 17 that is adapted to be slid downwardly into the 4three eyes when the latter are brought int-o alinement by closing door 12. At its upper end the bolt 17 is provided with an eyelS connected by a chain 19 with a staple 2O fastened to wall 10.

Near its lower end the bolt 17 is formed with an annular groove 21 adapted to register with an annular groove 22 provided upon the inside of a sealingl cap 23 when the latter is fitted telescopically upon the lower end of bolt 17. Within the lower end portion of the bolt 17 is formed a cylindrical chamber 24 which may be provided by boring into said bolt from its lower end, said chamber preferably being eccentrically disposed with relation to the axis of the bolt and opening into groove 21 at its side where it crosses the latter as shown in Figs. 2 and Chamber 24 is closed at its lower outer end by a plug permanently fixed within that end, said plug having a small hole 26 formed centrally lengthwise thereof.

Within chamber 24 .is slidably mounted a cylindrical plunger 26 normally held against plug by a coiled' spring 27 also arranged within kchamber 24E. The lower end of plunger 26 which bears against plug 25 is beveled or conical as shown, the purpose of which will appear later. A locking member in the shape of a metal ball 28 completes the structure of Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

rlthe sealing member 23 is placed in posi tionupon the lower end of bolt 17 as shown in Fig. 1 in the following manner: After sliding the bolt 17 downwardly into position within the eyes or sockets 14 and 15, a wire key, which may be constructed like the key 29 shown in Fig. 7, is inserted in hole'26 and manipulated so asto push the plunger 26 back against the spring 27 so as to open communication between groove 21 and chamber 24, and while holding plunger 26 thus retracted the ball 28 is placed in position between plunger 26 and lplug 25. The key 29 is now removed while the ball is held inplace bythe finger and the sealing member or cap ,23 is slid telescopically onto the end of bolt 17. As soon as the groove 22 of sealing cap 23 registers with the groove 21 of bolt 17 Vthe lower beveled or conical end of the spring pressed plunger 26 cams the ball 28 laterally outward, ejecting it from chamber 211 and 'bringing it into position partly within groove 22 and partly within groove 21, these two registering .grooves forming an endless tubular raceway orfpocket for the ball which latter is free to occupy any position therein.

lt will be clear that when the Vsealing cap 23 is thus shoved onto bolt 17 it is 'permanentlyv locked in position and the locking means-the ball 28`is inaccessible from the exterior of the device as is also the plunger 26.

lfthe chamber 24E were positioned with its axiscoincident with the axis of bolt 17, a

person having knowledge of the details of vlconstruction might undertake to drill through the end of cap 23 at the'center thereof to vpermit of the insertion of a wire key similar to 29, but by having said chamber ie'ccentrically disposed as described the point at which to drill could not be determined 'because the cap, when in place, is freely rotatable on the bolt.

The cap Asea-l 23 is made from fragile or easily broken material, preferable porcelain, 'sot'hat when it is desired to open door 12 the sealing cap can be removed to free bolt 17 only by breaking it into pieces. Willen thus broken the cap cannot be restored again,

at least, not without its broken condition being plainly visible even ata 'considerable distance.

n igs.` 8 and 9 illustrate my seal vapplied to a bottle of otherwise ordinary construction. In these 'figures thesealing 'cap 30 is constructed substantially the same as the cap 23, being locked in position over the neck of the bottle 32 by a metal Vball'31. rlhe ball 31 occupies a positionpartlywithin an annulargroove upon the interior of the cap and partly within an annular groove 34 formed upon the Vexterior of a sleeve 35 encircling the neck lof the bottle.l rlhis sleeve y is made up oftwoseparate segments that are locked itogether `vagainst relative endwise movement by'dowels 36 on one of said segsealing cap 30 holds the two segments to-l gether, said segments being confined between the bead 33 at the upper end of the kbottle and the body of the latter.

When the yplunger 26 is pushed inwardly by means of the key 29 so that its conical end-is carried into a position past or beyond the groove 21, communication is' opened between cham-ber 24: andfgroove 21,'that portion of the chamber 24 -between the end of bolt 26 and plug 25 then providing a pocket at the bottom of said groove adapted to' receive the ball 28. When theball 28 occupies position within this pocket its outermost portion does not extend bevond the exterior of bolt 17 so that the latterwith theball held within the pocket by the linger can be passed into the socket member 23.

w' hat lfclaim is:

1. A seal of the character described comprising a sealing cap of rfragile material made upon its interior with a groove; a member itting 'telescopically within said cap formed upon its exterior with a "groove registering with the grooveof'the cap, said member `being also formedl with a ball freceiving `pocket adapted to hold a ball `in retracted position whilethe partsof the seal are being assembled; a spring pressed plunger for ejecting the ball from said `pocket and closing the latter so as to prevent the return of the ball thereto, and a ball adapted to occupy Iboth of said grooves to lock the cap and member together.

2.. A seal ofthe character described comprising a sealing `cap 'of `fragile material made upon its interior with van "annular groove; a member iitting telescopically within said cap formed upon its exterior with an annular groove registerin'gwiththe groove of the cap, and a locking ball occupying'the two grooves, the said member beingvmade with `a ball receiving pocket communicating with the grooveof said member vandfheing provided with a spring pressedmember for fejecting the ball "from said pocket and closingthe 4lrfttterso "as to prevent-,the return of the ball theretolwhen the two grooves are brought "into register during the operation of "assembling the parts.

3. A seal of thefchar'acter described comprising a sealing cap of fragile material `made upon its interior `with 1a groove; a

pocket communicating with its f groove; a

ball loosely occupying the two grooves to lock said member and cap together and -means for automatically ejecting the ball from said pocket and closing the latter so as to prevent the return of the ball thereto when the two grooves are brought into register during the operation of assembling the parts. il. A seal of the character described comprising a sealing cap of fragile material made upon its interior with a recess; a member tting telescopcally within said cap formed upon its exterior with a recess registering with tlie recess of the cap, said member 'being made with a ball receiving pocket communicating with its recess; a ball occupying the two recesses to lock said member and cap together, and means for ejecting the ball from said pocket and closing the latter' so as to prevent the return ot' the ball thereto when the two recesses are brought into register during the operation of assembling the parts.

In testimony whereof I have aiixed my si gnature.

WILLIAM H. GOO'DELL) 

